


Crimson

by MysteriouslySurreal



Series: Misc. Oneshots [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Can you figure out where he is?, Carefree Erwin, Creepy stuff, Eren's in here, Levi's nightmares, Multi, Nightmares, Reiner's in here too, Scientist!Erwin, Scientist!Hange, Supernatural - Freeform, female hange, planes, scientist!levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 11:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3894112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteriouslySurreal/pseuds/MysteriouslySurreal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is someone who hasn't had any excitement in his life for as long as he could remember. That is, until he is asked to go to the Amazon Rainforest with Erwin and his colleagues. Plagued by nightmares, Levi is hesitant to board the plane (especially at night when he cannot see what is out there), but he swallows his fears for the sake of the expedition.</p><p>Because nightmares don't come true.</p><p>Do they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crimson

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone.  
> This is a revamp of an old fic I had called Scarlet. I have been experimenting with this story, so without further ado, I deliver you a story with a new name, ending and writing style.
> 
> Thank you for reading :)

**APRIL 5th, 2005:**

Hange Zoe had invited her two best friends, Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith to her laboratory in downtown New York. Levi had originally dragged his heels about going but after extensive persuasion from Erwin he’d finally agreed.

Seated in her laboratory, Levi said grumpily, “I hope you know what you’re asking of us, Hange.” His mood was noted by almost everyone working in the laboratory.

Hange adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “Of course I do, Levi. Why do you think I’m asking my closest friends to go on this expedition to the Amazon rather than any of my other colleagues?”

Levi’s lip curled. Here yes was missing out on his off-work day and spending it in a dingy little laboratory. The things he does for friends.

Seated on the right hand side of Levi, Erwin said, “Hange, what exactly is it that you want us to do?”

“What I’m asking is that you board a plane to the Amazon and collect as many samples of flora and fauna that you can find.”

Levi leaned forward in his chair. “Why can’t you go yourself?”

Hange and Levi had been best friends since childhood. Used to his cynical way of speaking she could tell he was wired. She raised her left eyebrow and gestured to her swollen abdomen. “I can’t exactly go to the Amazon on the off chance of giving birth in the middle of the forest, now can I.” The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakable.

Levi smiled wryly. “Well now, I figured you’d have liked that, Hange. After all, wasn’t it your dream to be the next Nigel Thornberry and raise a wild child in the wilderness?”

Yes, it had been her dream, the dream of a twelve-year-old. She was now twenty eight. She waved her hand impatiently at Levi then looked around the room. “Well, who is and who isn’t going to take part in this expedition?”

Mike, an old friend of Erwin’s had been silent throughout the meeting He suddenly spoke up. “I’m in.”

Erwin followed suit. “So am I.”

Others also raised their hands.

Hange smiled at Levi “Well, Levi, I guess that just leaves you then.”

Levi took a moment to think. He was a scientist, not a goddamn explorer. What did he have to gain from going on the trip? Then again, what did he have to lose? Perhaps it was time he went out into the field again instead of opting to stay in the comfort of his home or laboratory back in Seattle. The idea of seeing another part of the world sent a sudden feeling of excitement through his veins. “Yes,” he said before giving it anymore thought. “I’ll go.”

Hange’s face lit up. She held out her arms to embrace Levi. His attempt at avoiding her embrace came too late. Caught in her grip he was reminded of all the martial arts training she’d gained throughout her teenage years. She buried her nose in his hair. “I’m glad, Levi. Thank you.”

He eased her away from him. “Okay, okay, it’s no big deal.”

Hange knew better. She ruffled his hair lightly. It earned her a glare and a scowl.

“Watch it, four-eyes. This hair is a work of art.”

Laughing, she flicked his nose. “Whatever you say, Levi.”

Someone at the back of the room said, “Excuse me for interrupting, but when do we leave?”

Hange’s face lit up again. She smiled at the man who had spoken. “Ah, yes. You are to leave a week tomorrow. I’ll be sending everyone a list with the items they’ll need to pack. If anyone has questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.” Everyone nodded in unison. “You may go now,” she added haughtily.

Levi smiled to himself. Being haughty was typical of Hange’s manner.

The group dispersed. Last to leave were Erwin and Mike.

“So, Levi, what finally convinced you to go on the expedition?”

The unexpected sound of Hange’s voice behind him made Levi jump and clutch at his chest. “My God, Hange, you almost scared me to death. A bit of a warning next time would be appreciated!”

Hange began to laugh so hard that Levi thought she might fall over.

“I’m, sorry, Levi. Next time I’ll whistle a tune or make a noise.” Unable to control herself she began to giggle again.

Levi waved his hand impatiently. "Well, if you must know I haven’t had much excitement in my life lately. This expedition will give me the opportunity to change that."

Hange nodded thoughtfully. "Good point."

Levi rose from his chair. "Anyway, I better get going. The dog needs to be fed and I need to get everything sorted for this trip. By the way, exactly how long will we be gone?"

Hange's haughty expression was back.

"For as long as needed."

The vague response made Levi groan. He wanted a definite answer from her. "Can’t you at least give me an estimate of how long it might be?"

Hange shrugged her shoulders. “It all depends on what flora and fauna you’re able to find in that part of the Amazon. Based on previous experiences I’d say about three weeks, give or take a few days.” She placed her hands over her swollen abdomen. "You know I’d love to have joined you on the expedition, Levi. It’s just that I’m too close to my due date to consider flying."

Levi rested his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I understand why you have to stay behind. Let’s face it no woman in her right mind would want to give birth in the middle of the jungle. There’s also the matter of your husband. I know how he is. He’d freak out on a global scale if that ever happened."

Hange smiled at Levi. "Yes, he probably would."

He smiled back at her. Smiling was something he seldom did. It wasn't that he didn't want to smile. He just felt he didn't need to.

"Well, said Hange, "you’d better get going. I’m sure Shiro will be barking her head off for her food by now."

“You’re right. Bye, Hange.”

Levi collected his things and then walked down to his car. As he drove along the highway his thoughts were of Shiro, his pet dog, a black pug with an attitude. She was probably the only mess and noise he could handle at the moment. It suddenly dawned on him that if he was going to survive the expedition he'd have a lot more than just a dog to deal with “Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?” he muttered to himself.

Levi had no idea that in a little over a week’s time he’d be finding out the hard way.

* * *

 

**ONE WEEK LATER: 6:15PM**

Levi shouted from his seat in the plane, “Erwin, get your ass into this aircraft or so help me God I’ll drag you inside myself!” His voice was drowned out by the droning of the small twin engine plane.

Erwin gave him a broad grin, picked up the last of his baggage and tossed it into the cargo hold. “Relax Levi. The plane’s not going to leave without me.”

“I’m too old for this” Levi muttered to himself. He turned in his seat and looked out of the window. The sun was already setting behind the airport buildings. It would soon be dark. There were two reasons why flying in a small plane made Levi anxious. Firstly, he hated being cramped into a small eighteen seater plane. Secondly, he’d always had a fear of the dark. Not being able to see the land or sea beneath him made very uneasy.

Erwin appeared at the door of the aircraft with his on-board luggage. Levi tilted his head to meet the taller man’s gaze. “Took you long enough,” he grumbled. Erwin responded by giving him a cheesy grin.

Whatever Levi had seen in Erwin over the years he wasn’t able to say. The man was like a big child, one that Levi remembered at one time being the bane of his existence. There’d been times in his relationship with Erwin when he’d felt more like a father figure rather than a partner. It was one of the many reasons why a few years back he’d broken away from him.

The flight attendant ushered Erwin to his seat. Unable to deal with Erwin’s nonsense a moment longer, Levi silently thanked her. In truth, the fact that Levi could still work alongside Erwin was somewhat of a miracle especially as there’d been times when he could willingly have torn Erwin’s head off and baked it into a pie or something. Levi shuddered. The thought of one human eating another sickened him. It was horrific, unimaginable!

Levi’s thoughts were distracted by the loud drone of the twin engines. Following the instructions of the flight attendant everyone board quickly adjusted their safety belts. Within a few moments the plane was airborne.

Hange had chosen a very small plane for the expedition. Looking around him Levi noticed there were a number of unoccupied seats. Accustomed to travelling in business class and on a much larger and more spacious passenger airline he found himself beginning to feel claustrophobic. To distract his thoughts he inserted the earphones of his iPod into his ears. The music drowned out the humdrum noise of the other passengers. It didn’t take long before his eyelids became heavy and he fell asleep. Beneath him the Amazon Rainforest also slept.

Or did it?

* * *

 

_Crimson._

_The colour was vibrant, loud and obnoxious and yet, so very beautiful and it was everywhere in Levi’s immediate vision. Somehow though, being able to see the colour so vibrantly frightened hi, but at the same time an animalistic instinct within told him to love the colour. A face appeared in front of him sending shivers down his spine. It stared mesmerizingly into his eyes and then ran its thick leathery tongue up his face. The sensation made him feel sick to his stomach._

_“Delicious,” the mouth hissed and then opened wider. Petrified and unable to move Levi began to felt the excruciatingly painful crunching of his bones, and then, suddenly, blackness filled his vision. He let out a cry of agony…._

The moment Levi awoke from his nightmare he saw the flight attendant standing beside him. The look of panic on her face told him something was very wrong. He quickly removed his earphones. “What’s the matter?”

The flight attendant bent over and whispered in his ear. “The plane’s flying on auto-pilot. I think the pilot has had a heart attack. He’s slumped over the controls. I- I think he’s dead.”

“What?!” Levi looked around him. All the passengers, including Erwin, were asleep. He undid his seat belt and stood up. “Come with me!” Inside the cockpit Levi checked the pilot. He was definitely dead. Next, the auto pilot. It was on. Something made him check the fuel gauges. “Shit, the fuel tanks are showing empty!”

The flight attendant began to cry. “Oh God, we’re all going to die!”

Levi’s mind filled with questions. Had the plane been fuelled to maximum? How long had the pilot been dead? How long had the plane been on auto pilot? Should he wake the other passengers or leave them to die in their sleep? He knew that most of them had families back home, families who would be waiting for them to return. He also knew that wasn’t going to happen. The thought turned his stomach.

Erwin appeared in the doorway to the cockpit. He noticed the flight attendant was crying. “What’s going on, Levi?”

Levi swallowed hard. “What’s going on is that the pilot’s dead and we’re almost out of fuel.”

“What? You mean we’re going to crash?! Dear God!”

A voice from the cabin cried out, “The plane is going to crash!” All hell broke loose.

The drone of the engines suddenly ceased. The plane began to spiral downwards taking with it its passengers and their terrified screams.

* * *

 

Levi opened his eyes. Incredibly, he was alive! He raised his head and looked around him. With a full moon above he could see the plane wreckage, the mangled bodies still within it as well as those that lay scattered on the sandy beach and who were splattered with what looked like crimson paint. It suddenly dawned on him, crimson meant blood! He felt sick to his stomach. Getting to his knees he screamed into the night. “Erwin!” There was no reply. “Erwin! Are you there?” Still no reply. A tear slid down his cheek. “Please! Please! There has to be someone to there!” He called out again. “Hello, can anyone hear me?” Met again with silence he began to feel frightened and very alone. His thoughts turned to Erwin and the last precious moments they’d shared together.

Moments before the plane had gone down Erwin had said, “I just want you to know, Levi, you are the most wonderful person and the best partner anyone could have asked for. I’m just so very sorry things didn’t always work out.”

“Erwin, as long as I’ve known you you’ve always had a place in my heart. I’m also sorry; especially that it had to end like this.”

Erwin had placed his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “How about one more hug, just for old-time’s sake?”

‘Why not?”

Erwin had wrapped his arms around Levi. “Goodbye Levi,” he’d said softly. A tear had fallen from his eye on to Levi’s cheek.

Aware of the utterly helpless situation they were in Levi had hugged his long-time friend even harder. “Goodbye Erwin, I ...”

The plane had suddenly dipped forward and begun spiralling towards the ground beneath.

A shiny object lying near the water’s edge distracted Levi from his thoughts. He realised it was a flashlight and quickly retrieved it. On examination it proved to be dented but still in working order. He felt a sudden warm trickle down the side of his face. His fingers found a nasty gash to the side of his head. It was painful to the touch. He rinsed off the blood on his fingers in the sea water and sat down again. Something ran across his hand. The sensation scared him. He turned the torch on and found the culprit. It was just a crab.

“Tch, here I am being scared almost to death by a tiny crab!”

“Tch.”

Levi was on his knees. “Who said that?”

“Tch. Tch. Tch.”

A shiver ran along Levi’s spine. Aware he was no longer the only living and intelligent being on the island he got quickly to his feet and backed slowly away from the shoreline. His back suddenly came up against something that felt warm, fleshy and solid. He whipped around, turned on the flashlight and realised he was standing face to face with something with eyes that glowed like bright green emeralds, eyes akin to those of a cat. Its skin seemed to be deeply tanned as if having been continually exposed to the sun. Its limbs were long and muscular, the arms slightly longer than the average human’s. Terrified, he was unable to look away from what seemed to him to be a half human half creature.

“Tch.”

The sound made Levi’s stomach tighten in a knot. Never in his wildest dream had he ever imagined he would one day be marooned on some godforsaken island with such a terrifying creature standing before him.

The creature suddenly darted out of the range of Levi’s flashlight. He spun around in search of it but it was gone, or so he thought. A moment later he became aware of something sniffing at the gash on his head. He whipped the flashlight around and froze. The creature, its mouth drooling and its eyes glowing in the artificial light moved slowly closer. Still frozen with fear Levi could do nothing to prevent from sniffing at him. A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed at his wrist. The hand was warm and calloused with claw-like nails that dug deep as it dragged him away from the plane wreckage, along the beach and into the trees.

His flashlight now gone Levi stumbled along behind his captor. “Who are you?” he demanded in a trembling voice. He question was ignored. “What do you want from me?” Again he was ignored.

His fear lessening somewhat Levi tried to make sense of the ‘thing’ that had taken him prisoner. Granted, it had cat-like eyes and a gross mouth. However, the fact that it had two legs and arms and was able to walk upright convinced him it was part human. And yet, its senses seemed heightened to the point of being supernatural.

They emerged from the trees to an area where bones were scattered like a vulture’s feeding ground. Bones of what, Levi wondered then quickly decided he didn’t want to know. Ever! It was then he spotted an even bigger version of the half- human creature, complete with toned muscles and blonde hair. It was dragging the mangled corpse of one of his dead colleague across the centre of the rotting bones. Within seconds more of the creatures in different shapes and sizes emerged from the cover of the trees. Levi stared in absolute horror as they descended upon the carcass. The sound of tearing flesh and snapping bones made him want to vomit.

One of the creatures ran up to Levi. Clutching at his free wrist it began to make the same clicking sound his captor had made earlier that night.

“Tch. Tch.”

Released suddenly by his captor and shoved forward, for a brief moment Levi was tempted to make a run for it, but to where? It was then that his captor began to speak in a tongue that made no sense to Levi, that is, until he heard the English word, eat.

They came at Levi from all directions. As they tore the flesh from his bones he could see only one colour.

Crimson.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed that (hope the ending wasn't too sudden, too)  
> Any feedback is welcome here, since this writing style is new to me, and I'm still working out the kinks.  
> Feel free to suggest anything you'd like.
> 
> Thank you again for taking the time to read this :)
> 
> (I creeped myself out the first time I read through it, geez haha.)


End file.
